I stare at the man before me for what feels like an eternity. I don't want to look at him but he is a far better thing to look at. Far better than the surrounding horror. He eventually begins talking, he speaks to me as if he were introducing me to his favorite restaurant or bar,

"So here we are. This is where our men get their morale. Of course, they are all from the Solar Empire. We wouldn't want to take any good earth women. "

I keep staring dumbfounded at his reasoning. I get it they don't like them. I understand they want them off our planet, but imprisoning and raping them? That's beyond any words. There is no excuse. There is no rational reason or justification for this. Killing, maybe. Imprisonment, of course. Bad conditions of capture, sometimes it can't be helped on a shoestring budget. This has no rationale. It is pure depravity and mental sickness.

He sees my face which no longer hides my surprise and overall revulsion at the situation around me. He walks up beside me and reaches up to put his big arm around my shoulders. He then starts leading me deeper into the room towards a specific area. The whole while he is talking like a friend who is just trying to help,

"I see you are hesitant to take part, but don't worry I think I know what will get you to join in.

I can't imagine what it must've been like dealing with those nobles and I'm sure once you get over the initial shock of this you'll want a place to take out all those woes and frustrations. Because I like you and I also know you were a kissless virgin back then and probably still are I've taken the liberty of giving you our premium treatment."

I manage to choke out some words,

"Why... Why did you do this? "

He laughs and replies,

"Well, we had to get funds somehow. We couldn't really get the right money to supply ourselves with guns and armor. We started with some drug trade and eventually started some minor pimping. Eventually, we started kidnapping those damned invader women and we normally sell them to the highest bidder. A surprising number of buyers are Solars themselves. Here why we are using our stock is because of the siege. Normally we won't touch most of the product especially the virgins, but this is a stressful situation and the men need relief. The area I'm taking you to is our untouchable stock. Execution is warranted for touching these girls.

Nobles. We managed to catch ourselves some noblewomen. From this battle and a couple of others. Knowing you, I'm gonna gift one of your choice to ya. That one will be your personal slave, attendant, or whatever you wanna call them. They will be yours. Give those uppity bitches a taste of justice."

that last word stirs something in me, but my shock keeps it down as I just keep walking forward. I finally can handle some gore and violence, still upsetting but manageable, this... this place is beyond that. At least with dead bodies and wounded the pain can stop or is already over. This is torture. Pure and simple. No, if and or but.

We make it to one of the partitioned-off sections and step through a door labeled Do not enter. I step inside and see fewer kennel-like cages. There are fewer but on the inside, I see naked women. A few I think I've seen around the academy. I look away doing little to protect their modesty. I am taken to a cage where I hear the occupant slam against the metal and start speaking to me,

"Mike! You're Alive! Thank the Empress! Why are you here with them though? What's going on?"

I look forward and see Eloise pressed up against the cage. Her fair skin shiny with sweat and her beautiful figure on full display. Her brilliant green eyes look up at me pleadingly. She is scared out of her mind and wants any way out of here. I don't blame her.

My captor says to me,

"This one is a real beauty. Daughter of the high priest. Gorgeous... I think this one would be the correct choice for you. Beautiful has a good ass, and a fair pair of tits. Perfect so long as you aren't into any form of mutilation. Plus she's a super high ranking noble, making it all the better to make her a slave, plus now she is trying to plead with ya. Tell me. How much has she acted all superior because of her rank?"

I look away from Eloise and shake my head and reply, finding my voice,

"I haven't dealt with her much. In our only real conversation, she was quite kind to me. My only issue with her is her inability to kill during an actual fucking battle, but that's it."

His smile somehow widens and he says with a sadistic twinge,

"Ah, so a kind soul. Imagine how great it will be to break her then. A religious nut who acts in kindness broken by the one she thought may save her. Someone she fought along. Also, it sounds like she won't be much of a fighter meaning all the more fun you can have."

Suddenly some invisible barrier shatters inside me. My shock quickly disappearing. I feel my heart rate change. No longer pounding quickly out of what can easily be called fear and surprise. My heart beats slowly and in a nice rhythmic manner. My breathing follows suit and my breaths are long and collected. Now I can rationally think. That stirring I felt earlier was anger at him calling this whole situation, "Justice."

This isn't justice. It's a perversion and lack of human decency. My heart fills with hatred for someone I once called comrade and most likely friend. Whoever this is, no longer can be called either. I have no reason to protect Eloise, but the idea of someone who even showed me an ounce of respect being treated this poorly by me makes me sick. I have no duty for these people from a nation shat should be my enemy, but in my heart, I cannot let them be like this. They are not animals, nor objects to be abused. Most importantly, The people here in this room, the girls here never did anything truly wrong to me. Maybe they talked shit behind my back but who cares. The war? That was nineteen years ago. Even if they were alive they did no harm to me because they were less than three. There is no justice here being committed, but soon there will be.

I let out a long breath and give a big smile. A fake one of course and then I choose my words carefully,

"Well, that's a mighty fine offer. I think... I think I'll take it. I just wish it was that empress bitch."

I watch Eloise widen her eyes and back away from me in utter terror. She starts shaking her head fully believing I am about to commit unspeakable acts to her. I am slapped on the back in a friendly manner and my captor asks,

"I knew you'd come around, but what did it?"

I shake my head and reply,

"I was on board for a while now, I'm just a little shy when it comes to women, especially attractive naked ones. I was only not initially on board because I had to think through your offer and reasoning. Ya know don't instantly agree to something you haven't thought over."

He laughs out loud and then replies,

"That's what I thought! That's the kind of thinking we need. We need officers who won't just listen blindly and ignore reason. Alright Time to set you up with your new prize. Boys uncuff him."

I am surprised at the trust. I guess I used to be really close to this dude. That or he had a lot of respect for me. Either way, it was about to get him killed. The whole time Eloise is bargaining for her safety and I ignore her as one of the guards puts his SMG on his hip and begins unlocking the rather complicated handcuffs. When they are off I rub my wrist and let out a long whistle.

I hear the cage behind me open. The other guard goes to the cage to most likely collect her. That's when I strike. I grab the guard who just freed me and catch both his wrists. He can no longer get his gun. Using my heavy-ass leg I kick him in the knee causing it to break and bend backward. As he falls I take his gun from his hip. I whip around and fire three shots from it into the back of the other guard's head. He falls over quickly. I then put two bullets into the one I incapacitated. Two dead guards and two standing men. Both veterans of a war nearly two decades ago. He looks at me with betrayal in his eyes and I say to him,

" I won't lie. I was actually gonna join you till you took me here. I completely agreed with your reasons and frustrations but now... I see you all are nothing but criminals. Not fighters for a good cause or even a terrorist group. You all are simple human traffickers. No different than the cartels of back in the day. Just bad people who try to say they fight for a good cause when the only cause is the one between their legs."

He looks at me defeated and drops to his knees. I know better than to go up to him. His muscular arms are enough to keep me away. I raise the pistol and take aim. I then say one last thing,

"I'm sorry you ended up this way. I don't remember who you were back then but I'm sure you were once a good man. Now you are nothing but a pervert and a terrorist. I'm also sorry I was not there to help you all after the war. I don't know what I could have done, but anything to avoid this would have been great. "

He shakes his head and replies,

"Yeah... If you have any blame on yourself then why not bring me to justice? Why not capture your once comrade who you let go astray?"

I shake my head and reply,

"I am taking responsibility now. I let my dog become rabid, now it's my responsibility to put it down. Goodbye...Friend."

He looks up at me and gives a half-smile before saying just as I pull the trigger,

"Thank you, sir."

The bullet passes clean through his head and he falls backward. I feel pangs of sadness in my heart. I want to remember the old him, even his name, but there is nothing there but the memory of a dog of war gone mad. I close his wide-open eyes and cross his hands over his chest as I give a small prayer to him. I hope he finds peace, but on earth, he needed to die. I stand up fully and collect an SMG from a dead guard. I take his chest rig with all his armor. I reload the pistol and put it in the holster. The helmets won't come off easily plus are useless due to the armor-piercing pistol bullets having gone through them. I walk over to Eloise in her cage and reach an arm inside. I motion with my head for her to come out. She remains firmly glued to the opposite corner. I then say,

"I'm sorry. I just had to get my hands free. I didn't mean to worry you about what I might do. I would never do something even remotely similar to what they expected me to do."

She shakes her head as tears stream down her face. She replies,

"Even so I'm still scared... Please don't come closer... and please don't look..."

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

I finally realize again that she is naked and look away. I mutter and apologize. I don't blame her for being scared. In fact, I'm scared but I have work to do and sacks of shit to slaughter. The feeling coming over me is strange. I am not in a blind rage like before. I feel cold and detached. I feel dangerous and that isn't wrong. I was told once the only thing that can kill a monster is a bigger badder one, so now, I will become a monster without equal, the biggest baddest boogeyman around, all to clear this den of monsters.

I step out the door into the main area and begin. There is only one armed insurgent who is quickly killed with a single shot. The rest are naked or unarmed so they die quickly and like pigs. I check the other side rooms and kill a couple of older men who must be officers. The captive girls all stare at me with fear in their eyes. They don't do anything so I just leave them through the heavy doors. As I pass the armed insurgent I grab some keys.

I go into the dark hall and begin unlocking all the cells. Once they are unlocked I announce,

"You are now free, lets go do this boys."

There is a smaller cheer than I hoped for. Most in here are wounded and very few are combat able. I just keep moving forward. Through the other heavy doors are two more armed men who die quickly, not expecting any danger. Their guns and ammo are taken and we begin causing havoc.

While the marshals raid the armory after following signs towards it I head for the main command center by following the signs. I meet two men along the way. They die before they can even react. I keep the SMG raised as I speedwalk down the halls. I come around every corner finger on the trigger ready to kill. Eventually, I reach the command bunker inside the fortress. Outside stand two heavily armed guards. I'm not sure if the SMG will be enough to drop them before they start shooting. I have no cover in the hall. I decide my hand at deception. I lower my gun and walk casually towards them. One stops me and I explain the captain sent me up here while he finished up with his fun. One guard laughs and I am let through to my surprise.

Inside is a bunch of unarmed technicians working cameras, remote weapons systems, and other important systems of the facility. I walk in and no one notices me. I find a janitor's closet and take out a mop bucket. I see there are no other exits and a single vent that has access in the janitor's closet. I climb to the vent and I take some random insulation lying there and stuff it in the vent till the air is no longer flowing. I then dump every bottle of bleach and ammonia into mop buckets. I quickly leave after closing the closet door on my gas project. It will eventually fill the room to my best guesses.

Right outside the two guards pays me no mind. I place the barrel of the SMG against one of their heads and squeeze the trigger killing him instantly. Before his friend can react I tackle him and disarm him. Using my SMG I hold down the trigger. The bullets do little against his chest armor but the recoil causes the gun to rise and his neck takes a bullet causing him to quickly bleed to death.

I switch out my SMG for one of their rifles hoping the next time I come across heavily body armored insurgents I won't have to aim as well or get as lucky with my shots. I try to take their armor but it seems really clunky and hard to move it so I ignore it and just take their ammo. Using the remaining rifle I jam it between the handles of the control room door entombing the people inside to the best of my abilities. I then begin heading out towards where the marshals had gone.

As I approach a corner I hear multiple footfalls. I pause at the corner but the rubber on the bottom of my boots let out a small squeak. The footsteps instantly stop. There is a tense moment where both I and the other group wait in silence before I call out,

"It's Mike..."

I hear multiple sighs of relief and a man responds,

"It's the marshals, we couldn't get into the armory. It's too well defended."

I step around the corner and confirm it's the marshals and then brainstorm. I come up with a stupid but simple plan. I describe it,

"Alright. This is a hail mary but why don't you guys try and commandeer their AMS? Just follow the hangar signs. If what I understand is true they are sitting through a seige at the moment and they aren't breaking. That means only armories and battlements are really manned at the moment. Maybe the hangars are empty or just full of technicians? If not then don't try anything stupid, maybe if that doesn't work we can find a secondary armory or something and work from there? All I know is the cameras are unmanned and their command structure is a little messed up right now."

The marshals talk amongst themselves before coming to a decision. I see all of them steel their nerves and nod in my direction. I wish them luck and continue my own personal crusade. My first plan of action is to find a laundry room which I find easy. Inside is an insurgent jamming on some headphones doing his laundry. Unfortunately for him, his skull made good paint for the wall when I entered the room and shot him clean through the head.

I gather a huge rolling bin and toss every single set of clothes I could find into it. At the end of my collection, I have a huge cart with a pile of clothing above my head. I push the cart towards the remaining prisoners. I don't know how we are gonna destroy this bunker but if we go the action movie route we gotta get all prisoners out before we blow this place to kingdom come. I am unmolested on the journey back. The only spectators are corpses.

When I enter the first room of women they are huddled together and shy away from me as I enter. I don't look directly at any of them and shout,

"Listen up! I am here to get you all out of here. Everyone takes one top and one bottom. It doesn't matter if it's a coat or a t-shirt, just cover youselves."

I see one or two nod and I head to the private room. Inside Eloise remains in her cage. I go to each of the other cages and use the keys I gathered to unlock them. I say in a gentle voice as I pass by Eloise,

"You can stay if you want, but it is time to move. I cannot confirm your survival if you stay. I can at least try if you come, at least get some clothes."

I then hurry by and head back to the command center. I arrive to see three insurgents on the floor bleeding from their eyes and nose. They are moaning in pain. Ahead of the command centers doors are busted open and the rifle I used to close the doors is bent out of shape. I can see more corpses inside. I grant mercy to the ones on the ground with a single shot as I check to see if the gas remains.

It turns out the facility has good ventilation. The hallway vents seem to be sucking out most or all of the gas. I still cover my nose and mouth with my suit and sprint to the supply closet. I feel my eyes burn the entire way but I don't go blind meaning the concentration isn't too bad. I throw the buckets on their side to try and stop the reaction which doesn't work. I find a water faucet and set it to go. The water begins to flow over the floor and quickly dilutes the toxic mixture on the floor. I then remove the insulation blocking the vent. Quickly the air returns to normal and no extra burning is added. regardless my eyes are still on fire and I put my head under the faucet and wash them out for a few minutes. I know time is a luxury but I cannot afford to go blind.

Eventually, the burning stops, and I come out of the supply closet and check around the control room. I find a full map of the facility and also a console that has every camera attached to it. The screens mostly show tactical information and radar signatures. I then find the automated defense console. This console to my best interpretation controls automated defenses like anti-missile batteries and anti-aircraft batteries all across the facility. There probably are more but I try to find a shutdown command or something. The interface is easy enough to understand but I have to go through every menu to find something. What I find is an option titled 'repair mode'. I select and run it thinking that they cant repair a gun system while it's online and looking to kill.

I watch in glee as the systems are all turned offline. I then grab the consoles and toss the computer as far as I can breaking it so no one can try to turn them back on. I hope this lets our flyboys get closer and get some better shots in. I spend the next few minutes shutting down whatever system I find useful and breaking computers. When my destruction seems complete I leave the room happy and ready for some more fighting.

Suddenly the entire facility shakes violently as some kind of heavy munition is detonated. I manage to keep my balance but hurry along a path I had decided after looking at the map. There is a minor armory where I am headed plus an exit not too far off. I have reason to believe the exit will be heavily guarded. I stop one bend before the armory and listen. I hear a couple of voices, they are panicked and talking about defenses going down. I peek around the corner, rifle ready, and see three insurgents guarding the door. They don't notice me and I take advantage. Three shots and three dead bodies. I approach the armory and nearly lose my own head as an insurgent pops out guns blazing. He misses barely and I return fire killing him. I check the armory and see it is now empty. I gather more ammo, a helmet, a single-use anti-tank launcher, and a few grenades and plastic explosives. Equipped I head for the potential exit, that's when the lights turn red and an alarm begins sounding. An electronic voice rings out,

"Warning, facility compromised, Intruders in the main hangar, enemy forces currently breaching outer defensive positions. All soldiers relocate to inner defensive positions and hangars. Prepare for evacuation or final stand."

The message repeats as the alarm continue to woop loudly. Things just got difficult.

I carefully make my way to the potential exit and find it barely guarded. In the dim emergency lights, I see a sign over the exit titled evacuation tunnel. No wonder it isn't guarded well it's a final failsafe. I take out the guards easily and reload my rifle before going to the tunnel. I open the heavy blast door and look down the seemingly endless dark abyss. I keep the door open and return to where the girls are. They seem to be all dressed somewhat and I tell them to follow. Some follow me, some follow the ones following me. I lead them to the tunnel and wish them luck. They file out through the tunnel and I hope it leads somewhere safe and not in the line of fire. I find a switch and hit it. This causes dim lights to turn on illuminating the endless stretch of concrete tunnel. As I turn to leave and help the marshals in any way I can, I feel a tug on my arm. I look over to see Eloise and she says to me simply,

"Don't die. If you do I'll make sure it's not in vain. I'll get them out of here."

I smile real big and nod before hurrying off. I don't plan to die, but considering how many people I just saved, I would die at least somewhat happy.

I run through the halls and hear heavy gunfire ahead as I get near the main hangar. I end up behind a full platoon of insurgents. They are facing away from me not entering the hangar. They are waiting for the right time to strike. I take a frag grenade from my belt. I weight it in my hand for a moment before pulling the pin with great force and sending the jungle clip flying. I toss the heavy object into the center of the infantry. As it lands I raise my rifle. Two turn around to face me after the loud metal hits the concrete floor.

I step around the corner a little to block my body from shrapnel and gunfire. There is a deafening sound as the grenade explodes. I watch almost in slow motion as the concrete floor is turned to rubble and the small metal beads lining the inside of the grenade go through the heavy armor as if it were nothing. The soldiers struck either get tossed a few feet from the explosion or just fold in on themselves as their life is ripped from them. I see a couple of limbs go flying too. When the blast ends a cloud of light gray dust is kicked up and fills the hall. I am safe but my ears are ringing badly and a few fragments did hit the wall I am hiding behind.

I wait for the dust to clear and see only two survivors. Both with empty pant legs. I shoot them and continue into the hangar which is pure pandemonium. The marshals apparently did get some enemy AMS up and running and are currently putting in work against the reacting insurgents. The electric guns instantly vaporize infantry on the ground and the huge metal arms crush any battlement or armored vehicle that arrives. I enter the hangar and a marshal spots me. He waves from cover and I try to find the hangar controls. I spot the room and it is barricaded by a few insurgents who are armed with sidearms, but in their position are nearly invincible as the hangar command is pretty much a bunker.

I slink along the walls avoiding the sights of enemies and get close to the bunker. I check the door, It is tough and made of steel, but it is not a blast door. Just a door that can withstand small blasts. Luckily for me, I have some plastic explosives. I take the bricks of putty out and squish it along the hinge side of the door. I put about a pound of the stuff on and put an electronic detonator in it. I set the timer for thirty seconds and run to cover. I find a support coloumn and duck covering my ears. This blast is absolutely devastating. It turns out explosives have gotten better in the last nineteen years. My cover is nearly destroyed along with me as the explosion rocks the entire hangar. The bunker is blown clean open, not just the door. I gather my bearings as the world seems to spin around me. I can barely keep my balance as I approach the destroyed control room. The occupants are dead or dazed. I put down the still living and hobble over to the control panel.

The words on the screen are spinning and I cannot read. I see a word that looks like doors and press it. I can't hear anything worth a damn as my ears are ringing. I'm lucky my eardrums didn't just explode themselves. I look up swaying and see the roof retracting and opening along with a heavy set of main doors. As the roof opens a gunship appears and begins decimating the insurgents on the ground. Multiple strike teams enter and the marshals in the enemy AMS drop the weapon and shut down as not to get lit up. I sit down in a somewhat intact chair and try to stop spinning.

I think I took too many head hits and other head injuries today.

The marshals clean up and I remain seated while they finish sweeping and collecting prisoners. Suddenly I am shaken. Apparently, it seems a medic had been trying to talk to me but I was unable to hear him. He walks me to a medical evacuation flyer and I stumble a few times. I am checking over there before we lift-off and begin heading somewhere. I am handed a tablet and it explains that I am being taken back to the Hussain foundation to fix my AMS as well as them taking care of my healthcare. I frown at hearing this, but it does give me a chance to ask about things that have been bothering me. First and foremost. My memories...